


And I Watch Over You (Until You Find Peace)

by r0tkappchen



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 17:56:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13276827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r0tkappchen/pseuds/r0tkappchen
Summary: A story, of how a wolf fell for the moon.





	And I Watch Over You (Until You Find Peace)

For those who sleep and retire to their beds and nests for rest, night is peace. In regards to nocturnal creatures prowling the forests, night is life. Night can be anything one wishes to perceive, but all the same, everyone anticipates the presence of the sole emperor of the night, resting on an unreachable throne amidst hundreds of thousands of glimmering stars; the Moon.

 

The Moon is always there for all to see when the sky is blanketed in its dark veil, hanging tall in its heavenly glory, round and clear and bright; disappearing only when day creeps back in and chase it away with golden rays of sunshine. There has never been a night when the Moon would miss the bustling of nightlife, everything clear under its surveillance, and in a way, creatures on the ground find contentment in the ever-present company of the Moon regardless of where they are and who they're with. To say that the Moon is loved by all would be an understatement, for he is the heart of the sky, majesty of the night.

 

So when one night the sky is devoid of said heart, it becomes a chaos.

 

All choruses from any kind of livings cease to reverberate because it's forlorn that befall the entirety of the land. Instead of the songs of the cicadas and hootings of owls, it's silent confusion and panicked gazes traded between the animals. Shall they go into mourning, they thought, but that would mean that they are ready to admit the fact that the Moon is gone. The absence of the moon is unspoken, but they are reminded of it nonetheless as humans with lit torches, ask the same question among themselves again and again as if one has an answer; where is the Moon?

 

To escape the bitterness that has tainted the air, Jongin runs through the forest – past trees that loom but without shadow with no light to cast them upon – in search of peace and tranquility far away from wondering and heartbroken eyes. He runs and runs and runs, unpurturbed by the chilly wind that tangles themselves in his midnight fur as he surge forwards on strong legs; for it is nothing like the coldness creeping into the depths of his chest.

 

Though he knows no matter how far he runs, how quiet his surroundings are, peace and tranquility are mere dreams and vain wishings of the heart when there is no Moon to carress his being and watch over him.

 

It's three hours after his takeoff that he finally lets himself slow down to a stop, legs aching and throat dry. It's no use, he finds, because even beneath the slight fatigue, the grief from the absence of the Moon clung to his skin like putric acid. He resorts to just walk ahead. Despite being far away from his territory, Jongin knows the forest like the back of his hands and heads to the lake he knows is only a short walk away up north.

 

The lake is considerably wide yet not verily so, and although it glints with the shine of the stars up above, Jongin thinks that it is not complete without the reflection of the moon. He trudges close to the banks and bows to lap at some water, and it is then that his keen, golden eyes finds another reflection next to his own.

 

He stumbles back, shocked, and briefly wonders why he did not sense the presence of another being when he believes he is the best hunter among his pack. But what startles him more is the figure in front of him.

 

It looks human but not quite so, with jet black hair that contrasts sharply with pale, smooth complexion. Upon further inspection, Jongin thinks this 'it' is a male, despite  ~~its~~  his petite figure. He has eyes, big eyes that mirrors the lake – reflecting the stars above, with the depth in which one could drown in, framed with long, soft lashes. His eyebrows are a bit thicker than most, just like his rosy lips, somehow making him look all the more endearing. The..thing, is doning a flowy, robe-like attire in its whitest, and Jongin notes just how small his frame is, how delicate, that he feels the need to shield him from the world.

 

He thinks that this thing may as well be the most beautiful being he has ever seen, but it scares him how he feels as if the other is drawing him in.

 

The thing, still on his knees, looks taken aback at his reaction as he brings his hands up so that the palms face the wolf. “I don't mean to scare you!” he says, and Jongin thinks that his voice is soothing like his deceased mother's.

 

He huffs; Jongin does not get scared by the likes of him. He shifts into his human form and stands on two legs. “What and who are you?” he decides to ask, because the air around the male does not resemble any living he has encountered in his existence. His scent, too – sweet and tantalizing as it is – is foreign.

 

The thing blinks and slowly stands up, daintily dusting its silky robe off earth stains. “I am Kyungsoo,” he explains nervously, now weary of Jongin's threathening posture. “And I, am what you call the Moon.”

 

The wolf raises an eyebrow. He thinks Kyungsoo is lost, and bless his kind soul for his pure intentions of helping the other. “Where do you come from?”

 

“Well, I live up there,” Kyungsoo says, pointing a finger to the night sky. “Where do  _you_ come from?”

 

“I come from down there,” Jongin deadpans with his own finger pointing towards the lake.

 

It is Kyungsoo's turn to raise an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Haha. You cannot fool me wolf, I know for a fact that wolves do not live underwater.”

 

“And I know for a fact that the moon is round!”

 

“I am not fat! Do I look round to you right now?”

 

A staring competition ensues, and Kyungsoo is the first to deflate. It is with a dejected look that he sighs, “You don't believe me.”

 

Jongin has no idea what it is that plagued his mind, but deep down he knows that the other isn't lying. He wonders if it has anything to do with the peace that seems to be radiating from Kyungsoo. So he relents. “I..I believe you.”

 

And Jongin definitely isn't ready for another surprise when he finds Kyungsoo latching onto him, arms and legs around his tall figure. “Wha—”

 

“Will you be my friend?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Interesting..” Kyungsoo remarks as he stares at the owl perching on the branch, who seems to be returning his stare with equally round eyes.

 

“Hoo.”

 

“Who?” Kyungsoo smiles sweetly at the owl, “Why, you of course.”

 

Jongin finds it funny that he is now acting as a tour guide for a moon. It has been two hours into their walk, and nothing fails to bore his new company. “I thought you see owls every night.”

 

“I do,” Kyungsoo turns to look at him, eyebrows raised. The owl flies away, deciding he's lost Kyungsoo's attention. “But looking from this angle, and observing things definitely much closer..is different.  _Wondorous_.”

 

Jongin watches unblinkingly as the petite male turns once again to regard a beautiful blooming lily, adoration blooming in his chest at how the other looks at literally everything like a toddler learning about the world. The startling amount of joy and appreciation swimming in Kyungsoo's eyes at the nature presented before him is something the wolf knows no one on earth has the ability to achieve.

 

Curiosity takes the best of him, and Jongin lets the question out before he could stop his mouth. “What is it like, to be the Moon?”

 

It's very subtle, the way the muscles on Kyungsoo's shoulders beneath his clothing tense just slightly, but Jongin sees it nonetheless.

 

“Well,” Kyungsoo starts, fiddling with the lily in his hands, “it is nice, I guess. I get to see what everyone is up to.”

 

“So you like to observe?”

 

“Yes. I think life is interesting in general. But it is a pity I only get to see things at night, I am sure there is much more in the day...”

 

There is a longing look that settles on the smaller's face, and Jongin thinks this is the furthest he can go at the moment; he learned from Yixing-hyung when to back off. It is time they turn back to talk about topics that have less to do with Kyungsoo's position as a Moon.

 

Jongin tries to wrack his brain for anything to speak of, and the first thing that comes to mind is his father's – the alpha of his pack – constant pestering about finding a mate. It has been at the forefront of his mind since he's been pressured about that a lot.

 

“Tell me about your love life,” Jongin blurts. He has always been straightforward.

 

The response he gets is a choke and a cough, and a pretty sight of the other's pink cheeks. “L-Love life..?”

 

Kyungsoo does has a hint of what love is, witnessing thousands of proclamations and promises under his light. He has wondered what it is like for a long time, and when one questions him about his own, he definitely has no answer.

 

“You do have someone in mind, do you not?” Jongin pries, a hand coming up to pick up a leaf that has fallen on the smaller's head.

 

“I..I do not..”

 

“Surely you have been infatuated..intrigued to know someone, maybe?”

 

“If you want me to start talking about yourself than I have nothing to explain.”

 

Jongin halts in his track and Kyungsoo naturally does so too, since he needs the other's guide through the thick forest. They are standing side by side, and when Kyungsoo peeks up to ask what is wrong, he finds Jongin staring at him with an unreadable expression.

 

The wolf thinks it's best to be blunt, once again. “Are you infatuated by me?”

 

“I'm not sure,” Kyungsoo answers truthfully. “I'm not clear of what it is like. But I think I am intrigued by you, wolf. You fascinate me.”

 

He wonders if Kyungsoo is lying because it is clearly the other way round; it is Jongin who can't take his eyes off the other male. They stare long into each other's eyes, and Jongin sees nothing but honesty in those big, sparkling orbs. He chuckles lightly, choosing to proceed their walk, a hand on the small of Kyungsoo's back to guide him forward. “Your eyes are like the moon,” he voices, “They're round and clear and bright.”

 

There is a tug at the ends of Kyungsoo's lips as he playfully taunts the other. “Jongin, you're likening me to myself, it is absurd!”

 

“Oh, pardon me for trying to be romantic,” Jongin smiles, hand pressing a tad bit firmer on the smaller's spine.

 

“Well, maybe you have to try harder than that.”

 

Jongin stops again, his hand on Kyungsoo's back sliding away to lace with the smaller's own, and his other hand coming up to gently caress the soft expanse of his cheek. “Your skin, shine as bright as the moon, and I see no difference between your hair and the ever dark night sky. Your eyelashes,” Jongin let a finger graze them just slightly, “can rival the stars when they glint under the light.”

 

The poetic, cheesy lines are supposed to be funny, but they're not. And Kyungsoo thinks his heart isn't supposed to hammer wildly in his chest, because Jongin is faking this to accept his challenge. But the sincerity and admiration in the other's voice are hard to miss and he is briefly lost on what to believe.

 

Pale cheeks heat up and color paints them red. Jongin raises an eyebrow, “Oh, I thought it is the end of the month; is the Red Moon coming out once again?”

 

Jongin is taken aback when Kyungsoo opens his mouth and a symphony of laughter tumbles out that makes the other's eyes scrunch up into crescents – again with the familiarity with the moon – and he notices how lips turn heart-shaped, like those large, heart-shaped leaves the wolves in his pack likes to offer to their mates.

 

He relinquishes in the melodious voice that not only fills the silence of the night, but maybe also the voids in his heart.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The wolf has taken liberty to taking the smaller under his wing, ushering Kyungsoo to a private den he marked as his own territory a distance away from his pack's own. It is a warm cave that is neither to big nor too small, and Jongin finds more comfort and peace than he has ever had when they lie down next to each other.

 

Jongin forgets that the moon never spend the night in slumber.

 

Morning rolls around, birds chirping outside and sunlight streaming in, and Jongin stretches his limbs as he rolls over to his side.

 

Only to discover that the spot beside him has long since gone cold.

 

He sits up abruptly. “Kyungsoo?” he calls, but gets no answer. “Kyungsoo, where are you?”

 

It took him a less than a second to dart out of the cave. “Kyungsoo!”

 

A chorus of tweetings greeted him, but that isn't what Jongin needs. What he needs is a soft voice coming out from red lips.

 

He rushes over to the village where his pack is, where most has already risen. The first one he sees happens to be his brother Junmyeon. “Hyung,” he calls. And when the other turns around, he is startled at his younger brother's disheveled state, and obviously just awoken from sleep. “Hyung, has a small man pass by around here? Short and wearing white clothes?”

 

The look he gets is skeptical and weary. “No, Jongin,” he pauses to mull. “Who is this being that you are talking about? Wha—wait, Jongin!”

 

He doesn't receive a reply as Jongin dashes away, shifting mid-sprint into the woods.

 

“ _Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo!_ ” he chants in his mind, running through the forest, ducking under branches and over boulders. He runs and runs, much like he did the night before; the difference being before he searched for tranquility, and now he looks for Kyungsoo himself.

 

There is no tranquility in his heart without the moon – without  _Kyungsoo_.

 

He does not know how much time has passed when he reaches the lake – time is nothing when there are important things at hand – and Jongin turns this way and that for the petite male.

 

It feels like a rock that has found purchase in his heart when he spots no such figure in sight. Slowly, the wolf inches his way towards the banks of the lake and gazes down.

 

Still, there is no reflection next to his own.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It is not his turn to hunt today so he spends the day by the lake, on a huge rock overlooking the waters and the trees framing the edges. He doesn't cry but he mourns for the lost of his new companion. He cares – thus the six-hour search he's been through for said male – and he does not want their first meeting to be their last.

 

Sunlight dissipates as the fiery ball steps down his throne to make way for another, whom people is praying for to ascend.

 

Jongin finds out the answer to everyone's prayers, when he hears the voice he longs for calling out from below. “Jongin? Is that you up there?”

 

Relief washes him in waves, but he doesn't show when he jumps down swiftly and shifts into his human form to stand in front of the other. “What if it wasn't me?”

 

He steps forward. “What if,” he reaches out a hand to fix the other's hair, “it was a beast?”

 

Jongin doesn't know what he is doing when he closes the distance and wraps the other up in his arms. Kyungsoo hugs back, face pressed up against firm shoulder. “A monster,” Jongin continues in his ear, “ready to devour you?”

 

He feels the other smile against him, and the frail arms tighten around his waist. “Silly Jongin,” Kyungsoo says. “I would know you anywhere. And if it is a monster, you have to protect me because you promised to be my friend. Wolves like you are strong, aren't you Jongin?”

 

It is scary on how much trust Kyungsoo puts on him, but it is scarier how Jongin's heart clenches at the word 'friend'. But he is happy nonetheless that when others' prayers to see the moon are not granted, his own to meet the moon is.

 

 _He is selfish_ , he discovers, as he hugs the smaller being in his arms tighter.  _He is selfish, because he wants the Moon all to himself_.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

They sit on the previous rock side by side, shoulders brushing occasionally whenever one of them shifts just slightly. They have been talking for quite some time.

 

“So I get it that you never sleep.”

 

“No,” Kyungsoo shakes his head. “I watch over everything during the night.”

 

“Where do you go during the day?”

 

The smaller's at a lost. “I..I don't know..”

 

Jongin turns to look at him in confusion. “What do you mean you don't know?”

 

“I sink into the horizon to let the Sun take his place, and then there is nothing,” he replies, keeping his eyes on the ripples on the water. “Even this morning; when dawn breaks I black out. I have no soul, I have no body. I cease to exist.”

 

Silence fills the gap.

 

Jongin isn't sure what to make out of Kyungsoo's explanation, but he thinks it is sad. To not be able to feel the warmth of sunlight bathing his skin, to not see the beauty of the flowers that only bloom in the day, to not hear the laughter of children and cubs playing tag in the evenings..

 

Kyungsoo plays with the pebbles in his hands he had picked up ealier. “Tell me, Jongin,” he begins, “what is there to see in the day.”

 

So he does.

 

Jongin tells Kyungsoo of the activities his pack does, of the hunts and of the trainings. He tells of the birds that don't hoot but chirps, of the night panthers that don't lurk but snore, of the sky that's not littered with stars but decorated with white, fluffy clouds.

 

Kyungsoo sees the wonder, the excitement, and the passion in Jongin's brown orbs as he tells everything there is and what happens in the moon's absence in daylight, and ponders if it is wrong to want Jongin to look at him with the same eyes.

 

Jongin, in turn, sees the amazement, the longing, and the warmth in Kyungsoo's dark blue orbs as he listens to what Jongin has to spill, and wonders if it is too much to want those feelings directed for him instead of the things he tells that he has no power to bring forth to the other.

 

The stars, the trees, and the lake are witnesses to two souls who are very much in love, and very much blind.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It is their fifth night together and the world finds the wolf and his friend sitting on a branch of a large willow tree, near the edge of the wood.

 

Music fills the air and Kyungsoo stares in awe for he has never expected the tribe celebrations to be such an exhilirating experience. The djembe and drum beats synchronizes the pounding of his heart, the plucking of the strings of the kora and lute sending tingles to his toes and the whistling of the flutes and neys blowing adrenaline into his veins. Humans dressed in contrasting, colourful attires and dresses play and laugh together around a bonfire.

 

“Wow,” Kyungsoo breathes, “It looks so fun.”

 

Jongin chuckles, “Yes.”

 

“Has it always been like this?”

 

“You can say that,” Jongin adjusts his seating so as not to fall off, “their celebrations and rituals are lively. Unlike the wolves.”

 

“Well, what do you wolves do?”

 

Jongin snorts. “Some massive hunting competition, storytelling sessions, offering and gifting rituals for the alpha. Mating. Stuff. Nothing much.”

 

“You do not have..” Kyungsoo tries to find the word, “music?”

 

“No. They hurt the elderly wolves' sensitive ears.”

 

Kyungsoo peers at his face. “You seem to have favor in music, though?”

 

Jongin chuckles, ruffling the smaller's hair. “I do. Well, I'm not a cranky elderly.”

 

Kyungsoo turns to the tribe celebration once again and sees them all moving around the fire, doing weird movements, laughing as they twirl along in tune with the music. “What are they doing?”

 

“They are dancing.”

 

“Dancing?”

 

Jongin turns, facing the other. Kyungsoo is so beautiful, his visage lightened with the glowing of the bonfire – the embers drifting into the air reflecting in his dark eyes.

 

“Do you want to try dancing?”

 

Kyungsoo stares at him, wide-eyed. He nods fervently, inducing a stiffled laugh from Jongin for his eagerness.

 

Jongin takes him to his private cave and start a small fire, before running inside as Kyungsoo wait outside. When he comes back out, Kyungsoo gasps at the sight of the instruments he has in his hands. “I thought you said wolves don't do music!”

 

A boyish grin blooms on his face. “I stole these.”

 

Kyungsoo frowns and accuses, “Bad dog. Stealing is wrong.”

 

“I can't do anything about these now can I?” Jongin pouts. Kyungsoo sighs in defeat and Jongin jumps excitedly, pushing a pair of..things into the smaller's hands. “These are maracas. And this,” Jongin lifts the thing in his own hand, “is a tambourine.”

 

“What do I do..with these?”

 

“Dance with them!” Jongin exclaims, starting to shake and hit the tambourine. It creates a certain melody that makes Kyungsoo's anger dissipate instantly, replaced with the familiar excitement. The boy in white nervously moves the maracas in his hands, and Jongin yells an encouraging “That's it!”

 

Kyungsoo moves timidly then, starting with his feet. He sways his body to the shaking of his maracas and in a sudden surge of bravery, he twirls. Jongin chuckles, but it is nothing mocking – a sound filled with amusement and happiness. It brings a smile to Kyungsoo's own face.

 

The worries and shyness goes away gradually and Kyungsoo finds himself dancing to his heart content. Jongin looks on, entranced at the sight of Kyungsoo letting himself go, his lips stretched so wide, flowy robe dancing around with him. The fire illuminates his face and Kyungsoo is positively  _glowing_.

 

In a spur of the moment decision Jongin throws away his tambourine, the instrument landing with soft thud on the ground; the sound drowned out by the laughter Kyungsoo emits when Jongin grabs him by the waist and spins them around. The smaller dumps away his own instruments in favour of having his fingers curled between the wolf's own, and they dance.

 

They dance and dance, feet moving around the fire that lights up their hearts – accompanied by a symphony made of none other than Kyungsoo's melodious laughter and the beatings of their heart.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Jongin runs through the forest, excitement pumping in his veins. The sun has long gone down and he is in a hurry, because he is late for his nightly meetings with Kyungsoo and he does not want the other to think that he does not want to meet him anymore.

 

Kyungsoo is indeed waiting for him, in seems, as he sits on a rock by the bank with his feet dunk in the waters. Jongin watches him for a second, enjoying the scene before he shifts into his human form and walks forward, placing himself beside the smaller.

 

The other senses his presence and he asks with his eyes closed, “What took you so long?”

 

“I'm sorry,” Jongin reaches for his hand. “I was fetching something.”

 

“I was worried,” Kyungsoo's lids flutter open.

 

“That I wouldn't see you anymore? You know I will always come to see you.”

 

Kyungsoo smiles softly at that, squeezing his bigger hand. “No, wolf. I was worried that something might have happened.”

 

“You could've come and save me,” Jongin teases, and Kyungsoo pushes him.

 

“I would not even know how to locate you. Unlike you wolves I cannot locate scents.”

 

“Right,” Jongin chuckles, flicking his nose. “Speaking about scents..” the wolf takes a deep inhale, “do you know that yours..is very sweet?”

 

Kyungsoo giggles. “Really? What kind of sweet?”

 

“Sweet like,” Jongin ponders, and he unconsciously leans in to sniff lightly, Kyungsoo stiffling giggles at his twitching nose. “Like lilies. Lilies and..morning dew. Oh,” his face fills with realisation, “and stars. Sweet like stars.”

 

Kyungsoo laughs, his shoulders shaking lightly and Jongin grins dopily at the sight and sound. Pride fills him at the thought that he is the only one that can make Kyungsoo look like that. “You are the most unromantic person ever!”

 

Jongin pouts at that. He breaks into shock however when Kyungsoo leans in himself, so close that his nose grazes Jongin's neck, and he is as still as a statue as the ethereal being takes a deep breath.

“You..don't smell so bad yourself.”

 

Jongin fights to maintain his posture as the smaller leans back with a smile. “Good thing I bathed after all the chores I did today, then,” he jokes.

 

“Bath?” Kyungsoo tilts his head in confusion.

 

“Bath,” Jongin nods, and then it dawns on him that Kyungsoo must have not experienced such things. “Bath is when we wash ourselves with water to get rid of sweat, dirt and smell.”

 

“Oh,” Kyungsoo turns to the lake. “Can we try have a bath, Jongin?”

 

Despite feeling his guts flipping around in his stomach, Jongin gives a smile and nods. He stands, and Kyungsoo follows, and they walk further into the water slowly. The wad until the water reach up to Jongin's hips and the middle of Kyungsoo's waist.

 

Jongin turns so that they face one another, the water rippling around them in gentle waves. “I hope you are not cold.” Kyungsoo gives him a reassuring shake of his head.

 

The alpha gives him one big smile before he takes a deep breath and disappears into the water. A gasp is emitted by the smaller, and he watches with big eyes as the figure underwater swims around him – smoooth and fluid like the school of little fish that scampers away at the presence of the intruder.

 

Jongin surfaces again a few meters away, and Kyungsoo claps his hands in amazement, coaxing a laugh out of the taller. “Now come here!”

 

“It is not fair!” Kyungsoo complains, “You know I do not know how to do as you did.”

 

The other male grins widely, obviously proud of his advantage over the smaller but Kyungsoo does not have the heart to feel offended; the smile so radiant it has Kyungsoo struck. Jongin gestures for him to come towards him nonetheless, and Kyungsoo really has no choice but to comply.

 

Halfway however, he accidentally steps onto the hem of his robe and he trips, falling with a splash into the water.

 

The water attacks his eyes, his ears, his nose – messing up his sense and sending him into a flurry of panic because his eyelids stung and he cannot find his footing. A pair of hands grabs hold of his armpit and he's lifted before he could do anything else and he finds himself pressed close to a sturdy chest.

 

“Are you alright?” Jongin asks, one arm holding him by the waist and the other hand wiping the water off his face. Kyungsoo blinks his bleary eyes open and feels his cheeks color. Jongin is so close.

 

This does not go unnoticed by the the wolf too, however, when he too seems to fall into a trance – eyes locked onto the Moon's own. Time is locked and the world halts in its place as they fall deeper into the other's orbs.

 

And it happens. As their fingers lace and Kyungsoo shyly tip toes to press a lingering kiss to Jongin's cheek, the pair think that maybe they wouldn't mind drowning after all.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It is their tenth night together and Jongin is speeding through the forest in his wolf form, Kyungsoo on his back. He is swift and agile, a lithe figure swimming in the darkness of the forest in the most expert ways, yet careful enough so as not to let his rider fall.

 

Jongin does a mighty leap out of the forest when they near the edge, out into a vast land with a sea of grass that sway and rustles to the midnight breeze. Kyungsoo throws his head back and laughs ruefully, startling the yellow butterflies as a flock takes off with fluttering wings.

 

The night breeze is cool yet warm. And he thinks he wants to hear more of the sound, so he runs faster, across the field and Kyungsoo, who has been keeping his chest glued to the other's back in fear of hitting a branch, now sits up to feel the wind truly hitting his face.

 

The small male nearly tumbles off when Jongin gallops to avoid a rock if not for the hands that is holding on tight to the wolf. The thrill induces a giggle from his chords and Jongin is greedy; he wants more, more,  _more_. So he runs and jumps and hops, trots in a circle and sometimes chases vigorously after a butterfly or grasshopper, and is satisfied with the fit of laughter and the occassional 'Jongin!' he gets throughout the night.

 

An hour later found the two sprawled in the middle of the field – Jongin has shifted – side by side on soft grass. Their chest heave up and down as they try to catch their breath from their little game.

 

“That was -pants- fun!” Kyungsoo exclaims into the air.

 

“Yeah -pants- we can do that again.”

 

Kyungsoo groans, “Maybe some other time.”

 

Jongin breaks into a breathless laughter, and it is the first time Kyungsoo hears the other laugh so carefree; it has always been quiet chuckles and wide grins. He decides he likes it just as much, if not more.

 

They lay in comfortable silence, staring up into the night sky where stars blink back. The moment is fragile and sweet and Jongin wants nothing more thank to have Kyungsoo by his side forever. There is rustling and both find their fingers intertwined; Kyungsoo's dainty digits filing the gap between Jongin's larger ones.

 

But the wolf stares into the dark blanket, he remembers that down here is not his home.

 

“Kyungsoo,” he says, “Do you miss the sky?”

 

It is quiet for a moment until Kyungsoo replies. “Yes..”

 

 _But if I were to leave for the sky than I will miss_ you.

 

“Oh..” Jongin trails off. He wonders if it is okay to ask, but he does anyway. “Why..did you come down here?”

 

Kyungsoo contemplates the best answer. “Maybe the moon fell.”

 

Both hands tighten simultaneously, and Jongin turns his head to look at Kyungsoo's side profile. The smaller exhales, eyes glazed.

 

“Maybe the moon fell, for its one and only.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The night after is when Jongin has his hand around Kyungsoo's wrist, tugging him forward to manouver his way round as the other wears a blindfold over his eyes.

 

“Jongin, where are we going?”

 

It is the same answer that he gets for the fifth time. “We're going to the sky,” and Kyungsoo has no choice but to trudge along.

 

They come to a stop and Jongin releases his hold on Kyungsoo's slim wrist. The shorter doesn't panic, because he knows Jongin is right behind him where he feels the heat radiating. There is a light tug on the blindfold as the wolf unties the knot, and when it finally falls Kyungsoo thinks he needs someone to fix his jaw.

 

They were standing in the middle of a clearing where it is not too big yet not too small, surrounded by trees that shade them from starlight. It is dark but around them was a thousand of those little things Kyungsoo remembers people call fireflies, that lit up the air as they hover around on tiny wings. He watches in awe and giggles when some of the creatures deem it comfortable to perch on his arms and shoulders.

 

“Beautiful, isn't it,” Jongin breathes, to which Kyungsoo nods slowly. He knows what Jongin means now; he depicts the fireflies as stars, and they are the Moon in the middle of them all.

 

Kyungsoo's heart contracts at the thought.  _Two Moons_.

 

Without a word, Jongin proceeds to sit down on and pulls Kyungsoo with him. He settles the other in his lap and loosely wraps his arms around the other. And like usual when they have nothing much to do, they spend their time in silence in opt to relish in the moment and appreciate the beautiful scene.

 

“My grandmother told me tales,” Jongin says, reaching out a hand to play with Kyungsoo's fingers. “I loved them so much.”

 

“Why?” Jongin's palm connects with the back of the smaller hand.

 

“Because,” he turns their hands so Kyungsoo's palm faces up, “there is always a happy ending to everything.”

 

They watch as a lone firefly lands on the white surfae of his palm. Like a child, Kyungsoo asks Jongin, “So there is never a death? Everyone lives happily ever after?”

 

Jongin chuckles fondly. “There is death,” he says, “but grandma taught me that there is only dead bodies; never dead souls. Their souls flew up higher and higher to turn into stars, and they watch us from above.”

 

He feels how the other goes still, and the firefly on the palm takes off. “I guess they're not true?”

 

Kyungsoo feebly shakes his head. Jongin senses something is wrong and turns the smaller around in his lap, so they are sitting face to face, and what greets him is a crestfallen face that doesn't seem to suit Kyungsoo. At all.

 

“Tell me what's wrong,” he says slowly, hands on Kyungsoo's sides with a gentle grip.

 

“Star are nothing but lights, Jongin,” he starts, “They are not souls or gods or whatever people make them out to be. They don't move, don't laugh, don't talk,” Kyungsoo inhales shakily, eyes glossy, “they are mere lights that fence me during the night, that acts as little glints to decorate a dark ceiling. They are not living beings in the sky..”

 

Kyungsoo lets a single tear slide down his cheek. “ _I_ am.”

 

Jongin face falls at the sight of more tears streaming down Kyungsoo's cheeks, and he tries to wipe away each one that marrs his pretty cheeks but fails miserably when another trails down. “It's lonely, Jongin, there is no soul up there except for mine,” Kyungsoo sobs, clenching Jongin's shirt. “I stand there and all I ever do is  _watch_ , and I like that but I hate it that I can't join when I see creatures snuggle together. I want to talk and laugh and hug and feel like all of you do but there is no one up there that can share these things with me.”

 

“There is no family, Jongin,” he says in a broken voice. “There is no friendship, there is no love up there. There is only me,  _me_ , envying all that I see because no matter how amazing the poems and words people construct for the Moon's beauty, there is no greater beauty than what they have in their hands, by their sides and in their hearts, that I don't.”

 

The wolf understands now, why Kyungsoo descended.

 

Jongin shushes him as he pulls Kyungsoo close, enveloping him in an embrace as the other cries into his chest and shoulders. He rocks them back and forth and whispers to him that  _no, you're not alone anymore_ , and  _you can share everything with me,_ because  _I'll always be by your side_. And Jongin reminds Kyungsoo that he does have what it is that people have in their heart, because he has seen how Kyungsoo spills a generous amount of his love to everything that he sees.

 

It takes long for Kyungsoo to calm down but Jongin holds him tight, never wanting to let go.

 

Except that when he wakes up in the morning, Kyungsoo, as per usual, isn't there.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Woooohoooo!! Yeah, after it, babe!!”

 

Chanyeol's holler is followed by obnoxious laughter, as Baekhyun moves from his spot where they had expected the deer to turn to and runs after it on fast legs.

 

Their group have hunted enough for the day and but they found another deer anyway, so they decided to play; hunting it down in human form.

 

“Oh no, you don't! That's gonna be my catch!!” Jongdae appears a few feet away from Baekhyun, having jumped down from a tree to join in the tag.

 

Jongin sighs as he watches the deer make a sharp turn to the left, taking both his packmates by surprise as they stumble on their feet and trip over a suspisciously stretched vine. Minseok cackles as he darted pass the two to continue the chase. Minseok is always one with the brains.

 

But he definitely isn't one with the speed, when Baekhyun easily catches up to him as he srpints after the deer. Jongin runs as he follows his friends from behind, because he thinks it is his duty as alpha's son – and the only rational one here – that they don't get themselves into trouble.

 

They are nearing a clearing, Jongin realizes and up ahead he hears a shriek and a splash, and collective laughter. And then more splashes. He soon finds out that it is Baekhyun that had fallen into the waterfall, and the others just thought that it was a good idea to hop in.

 

Well, what the hell. Jongin adds another splash.

 

They play in the water like kids and it feels nostalgic, bringing them back memories of their childhood days where they play around everyday and are eager pups to learn new moves and skills in combats and hunting. “Phew, just like good ol' times,” Chhanyeol sighs, before dipping under and reemerging only to shake off the water like a dog.

 

Jongdae moves to sprawl on a flat stone by the edge of the river, baring his skin to the sun. “And it's so nice today,” he chirps, “the Sun feels so warm yet not too hot.”

 

Jongin gets out of the water and sits on the bank. “Maybe it's because you just had a dip.”

 

“No, no, I mean it, the Sun feels so nice these past few days.”

 

Baekhyun, who has been waddling around, pauses and tilts his head back and closes his eyes. “Sometimes I wish the Sun is up forever and ever.”

 

Jongin frowns, “What?”

 

“I want days to last longer now,” Baekhyun says cheerfully, “it's okay if there's no more nights, because I don't care anymore.”

 

“B-But what about the Moon?”

 

The way Minseok looks at him makes him feel dumb. “What  _about_  the Moon?”

 

“There is no more Moon, Jongin,” Chanyeol interrupts, “It has been a fortnight already. There is no Moon.”

 

Jongin has to grit his teeth. “There is!”

 

“Jongin, man, you're being delusional,” Jongdae says, not realising the atmosphere around his pack member. “I really do think that nights will disappear though. The night hours are shorter now, and with it gone, I guess the Moon is too.”

 

Jongin finds truth in Jongdae's words, now that he thinks about it; the time he spends with Kyungsoo does feel less and less, although he thought it was just him not being able to keep his eyes from sleep no matter how he forces himself to keep awake for the other.

 

Panic bubbles rapidly in his chest at the sudden thought. No more nights, days all the time. No fireflies, no stars, no Moon.

 

Kyungsoo, gone.

 

“Jongin, are you alright?” Baekhyun asks worriedly. Jongin snaps out of his revery, and he only realizes that his breathing is laboured.

 

They are all watching him and Chanyeol takes a step forwards. He takes a step back. “I-I,” he stammers, holding a hand up. “I have to go..um, just, go back without me, okay?”

 

“But Jongin, it's late already,” Minseok tries, but Jongin is already dashing off into the woods.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He wonders how many times does he have to experience this, running without rest deeper into the forest with a frantic heart that is seconds away from leaping out from his chest. He is desperate as one can be, trees passing by in a blur as he pushes himself further and further, harder and harder—

 

He arrives at the lake again and he looks around frantically; it is just a little after dusk but he needs to see the other  _now—_

 

“Jongin?”

 

He turns and right there across from him, pretty and petite as ever, is his light, his shine, his—

 

Kyungsoo.

 

He shifts mid-run and slams into the other, crashing Kyungsoo into his own body. The smaller is startled, perplexed at Jongin's state and behaviour that seem as restless as he was during the firefly night.

 

There is no difference, the way Jongin clings to him like a lifeline with the way Kyungsoo did to the other. Kyungsoo feels in in his touch, in his body, the reassurance that he needs, in the voice as Jongin says, “Tell me that you're here.”

 

“Jong—”

 

“Tell me,” he says more firmly, but shakily, “tell me that you're here. With me.”

 

Kyungsoo hugs the other tighter. “I am here, Jongin, I am right here.”

 

“Tell me, that you're  _always_  here,” he demands again. “That you won't d-d—”

 

 _disappear_.

 

Kyungsoo is quiet, and he feels wetness on his shoulder where Jongin has his head leaned down against. It is silent and tense, until Jongin croaks out a silent “Why?”

 

He swallows a lump in his throat, “I-I came down to see what is it like. It should be just for one night, but a wolf came along.”

 

Kyungsoo slowly pulls them down so they are sitting on the ground, Jongin still attached onto him. “I came back for more and more, because now that I know how it feels like to love, I cannot get enough.”

 

“Then stay with me,” Jongin cuts in, “Stay. You'll never be lonely again and I'll have a mate to bring to my father.”

 

The smaller chuckles quietly, despite the pang in his heart. “I want to, but I cannot, Jongin. I am supposed to stay up there for a hundred years until the new moon comes, and I violated the rules. Things are going haywire; nature is not balanced and I have to return.”

 

“But home is here. Home is with me,” Jongin sobs, and tears are gathering in Kyungsoo's eyes.

 

“Jongin,” he chokes, “I am sorry, I cannot. A week is the limit,  _two_  weeks is pushing too far. Mother Nature is coming to get me and I will be chained.”

 

“W-When?”

 

Kyungsoo doesn't answer. But it is enough for Jongin to know that this is the last he gets to see his lover.

 

He pulls back and crashes his lips to the heart-shaped ones he loves so much, and it is desperate, to feel the other close and let their tongues convey what needs to be. Fingers tangle in locks and napes are pulled closer. It is sweet with the amount of the love they hold, salty with the tears that drips, and bitter with the knowledge of separation. They part, and kiss, and part, and kiss, again and again until it slows down into something much softer, gentler, and finally they stop with closed eyes to rest their foreheads against each other's.

 

“Promise me, to always watch over me,” Jongin says waveringly, hands firm on his partner's hips. “There is no peace without you, but let me know you'll always watch over me.”

 

There are only more tears that streams down Kyungsoo's visage and he wastes no second to mould their lips together again, tugging at Jongin's tunic.

 

When Kyungsoo descended in search of a companion, he didn't expect to meet a wolf, who more or less attracted him more than a friend should. He didn't plan to be lured by Jongin's sinful lips, yet sincere demeanor and his firm yet gently touches. His diverse personality, how he can be so mature at one moment and awfully childish the next, makes him easier to fall for. There is so much more to this man, this wolf, who filled the loneliness in his aching heart.

 

Jongin, on the other hand, never imagined that he would meet the Moon,  _talk_ with the moon and make the Moon smile. It has never crossed his mind that he can love the Moon deeper than he already has. They say the other side of the moon is a mystery, but Jongin has seen it all; the laughter that is easy to get addicted to, the wide eyes that he forgets to tell the other always draw him in, the nimble fingers he likes to play with. His honesty, his innocence – he is so, so pure, and Jongin wants to be greedy like he has always been with the smaller.

 

He wants all of Kyungsoo, body, heart, mind and soul. Both have been and are being selfish all along, wanting to keep the other to themselves.

 

Jongin's heart is so full with love and pain, a dangerous mix, and there are still tears in the corners of his eyes as he makes love to the smaller that night.

 

Kyungsoo is in no better shape as tears trail down his cheeks and temple in a steady stream. “I promise,” -pants- “I promise..only if,” -pants-

 

“if you promise, to always watch over me too.”

 

For the first and last time in history, a wolf marks a moon, as his mate.

 

For the hours after that in Jongin's cave he struggles to keep awake; he needs to see, hear, touch, smell, feel Kyungsoo for as long as he can. The tears have stopped, but the pain in his chest hasn't, and he fears the life without his now mate by his side but he knows they have a promise that binds them together. He vows; he vows to his love that every month that the Moon should show fully without any part of him hidden for punishment, he will sing in his wolf language – if only to show Kyungsoo that he  _remembers_. He stares and stares at Kyungsoo, mapping out everything there is to paint into his mind, and he doesn't even want to blink.

 

He doesn't cry when he wakes up the next morning, alone, but he knows that it is Kyungsoo who purposely lulled him into sleep with his carress and hums.

 

Jongin doesn't run to the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Ooph!”

 

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry—oh.” He lifts the novel up to inspect it. “Werewolves?”

 

The smaller man gets up and dusts off his pants. “Well, yes. Are you judging me?”

 

“What? Oh, god, no!” he chuckles, handing back the book. He picks up his own reading material, and he notices the other peeking over.

 

“You major in astronomy?” the shorter asks excitedly and  _oh, he's cute_.

 

He gives a shrug. “I like the moon. Wait wha—”

 

The other male jumps to cling onto him like koala. “Will you be my friend?”

 

There is an odd sense of deja vu in this situation, but Jongin shrugs it off. He decides to play naughty.

 

“You can be my moon—” he pulls a bit back to look straight into the other's clear, bright eyes.

 

 

“And I can be your werewolf.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> :) ...comments? [Shameless]


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